I am a great fan of Uber. They have seriously changed the game in an industry that no one thought to even approach it and I love those sorts of companies. Also, needless to say, like millions of people, I am a huge, huge fan of Mohamed Salah. In my humble opinion, he is by far one of the greatest athletes out there in the history of sports on achievements level and sportsmanship. But this article is not to evaluate either Uber as a company or Mohamed Salah as a player but rather to discuss the latest marketing campaign that Uber launched in Egypt around a month ago, with the greatest Egyptian celebrity of all, MO SALAH!
How many of you have been bombarded by this billboard (I will explain later why I specifically used the word bombarded later in the discussion) while driving on the 6th of October Bridge? Well, let me ask you a more important question, when you saw it, did it make you love Uber more? Hmmm, I doubt it. So did it make you order Uber more? Hmmm, I doubt it again. Did it make you recommend Uber more to a friend? Hmmm..... well, I think you are getting my point.
Many companies invest in acquiring celebrity endorsement, also known as marketing assets (they are called marketing assets because usually, it's a long-term contract that expires or depreciates over a period of time). It is not the first and certainly not the last time that a company will do that. But you don't just bring in a celebrity, stick a tagline and print your brand name next to it and call it a job, which, is in my humble opinion, was done in this case.
When mega brands capitalize on celebrities, they capitalize on them because they see a commonality between the brand and the brand's endorser, and hence the partnership works great. When Nike capitalized on Michael Jordan's success in his early career, the whole basketball world started wearing Nike, creating a multi-billion dollar brand, Air Jordan. That's due to the simple fact that there is great synergy between the brand and the endorser of the brand and serious top-notch marketing execution day in and day out to build this synergy to something greater than the sum of both.
I was astonished, to be honest, when I ran into an Uber marketing campaign in Egypt. There is simply no fundamental equity building whatsoever in all the touchpoints of the campaign.
For starters, the TV ad. You can watch it by pressing this link - https://youtu.be/IVsmCyo3kp8
I would rate this ad 0/10. I apologize for being blunt, but there are so many wrongs in this commercial that I don't even know where to start from. But let me simplify it for you for the non-marketing backgrounds reading this blog without getting into the nitty-gritty do's and don't of advertisement. What if I replaced the frame in minute 1:19 and instead of Uber and placed Adidas. Wouldn't that be more fitting for you? Wouldn't the storyline, the visuals, and the master visual all add up better for Adidas? Please watch it again now and tell me what you think!
You see! The socks, the shorts, the shirt, the highlight on the shoes while he is kicking the ball, and only after 70 seconds we see a car and Uber! I actually got tempted to buy Mo's shoes after watching this. When you're creating an advertisement, you are conveying a message. You are building a story, you are building a brand, and you're not just showing a scene then tagging along with the brand logo at the end of that advertisement.
Second, the billboards. I would rate these 1/10. Bombarded, anyone?! There are 6 faces (billboards) for the campaign in this picture alone from one view while you're driving. You're literally bombarded by 6 visuals from the same company. Now some may argue that this was the point, to grab your attention while driving. But do you know that by research, the 2nd time you see a billboard, you lose 50% interest from the first time you saw it? Now put 6 in one visual, and I believe you lost me from moment 1. Plus, is it really the right utilization of a marketing budget?
I hope you have enjoyed this week's blog. It's worth noting that I still love Uber and continue to use its service every week. Please leave your comments below, and you can now subscribe to the blog by entering your email address. Or if you have any cases that you would like me to discuss in specific, please email me at Shereba@brandmeup.co - until next week, lets #BrandMup
How many of you have been bombarded by this billboard (I will explain later why I specifically used the word bombarded later in the discussion) while driving on the 6th of October Bridge? Well, let me ask you a more important question, when you saw it, did it make you love Uber more? Hmmm, I doubt it. So did it make you order Uber more? Hmmm, I doubt it again. Did it make you recommend Uber more to a friend? Hmmm..... well, I think you are getting my point.
Many companies invest in acquiring celebrity endorsement, also known as marketing assets (they are called marketing assets because usually, it's a long-term contract that expires or depreciates over a period of time). It is not the first and certainly not the last time that a company will do that. But you don't just bring in a celebrity, stick a tagline and print your brand name next to it and call it a job, which, is in my humble opinion, was done in this case.
When mega brands capitalize on celebrities, they capitalize on them because they see a commonality between the brand and the brand's endorser, and hence the partnership works great. When Nike capitalized on Michael Jordan's success in his early career, the whole basketball world started wearing Nike, creating a multi-billion dollar brand, Air Jordan. That's due to the simple fact that there is great synergy between the brand and the endorser of the brand and serious top-notch marketing execution day in and day out to build this synergy to something greater than the sum of both.
I was astonished, to be honest, when I ran into an Uber marketing campaign in Egypt. There is simply no fundamental equity building whatsoever in all the touchpoints of the campaign.
For starters, the TV ad. You can watch it by pressing this link - https://youtu.be/IVsmCyo3kp8
I would rate this ad 0/10. I apologize for being blunt, but there are so many wrongs in this commercial that I don't even know where to start from. But let me simplify it for you for the non-marketing backgrounds reading this blog without getting into the nitty-gritty do's and don't of advertisement. What if I replaced the frame in minute 1:19 and instead of Uber and placed Adidas. Wouldn't that be more fitting for you? Wouldn't the storyline, the visuals, and the master visual all add up better for Adidas? Please watch it again now and tell me what you think!
You see! The socks, the shorts, the shirt, the highlight on the shoes while he is kicking the ball, and only after 70 seconds we see a car and Uber! I actually got tempted to buy Mo's shoes after watching this. When you're creating an advertisement, you are conveying a message. You are building a story, you are building a brand, and you're not just showing a scene then tagging along with the brand logo at the end of that advertisement.
Second, the billboards. I would rate these 1/10. Bombarded, anyone?! There are 6 faces (billboards) for the campaign in this picture alone from one view while you're driving. You're literally bombarded by 6 visuals from the same company. Now some may argue that this was the point, to grab your attention while driving. But do you know that by research, the 2nd time you see a billboard, you lose 50% interest from the first time you saw it? Now put 6 in one visual, and I believe you lost me from moment 1. Plus, is it really the right utilization of a marketing budget?
Finally, the campaign proposition, the punch line, kind of punched me in the face, to be honest. "ma3ak le7ad mah tewsal," meaning, "With you till you arrive." Ummmmm. Uber, this is BASIS of your service. Is this really your unique selling proposition that you're trying to highlight? Really? Just to be clear, this is what I am paying you for, RIGHT?!
I know I might be over-critical with this campaign, but it's only because of the magnitude of the celebrity being used here and the grandiosity of the marketing flaws I came across this entire campaign throughout every touchpoint. In my humble opinion, this was a very mediocre campaign, and I hope we get to see more robust campaigns based on an understanding of the marketing fundamentals of building brands and not just riding on celebrity fame. That is NOT at all what marketing is and how it should be.
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